The need to control rodents has existed since man was created. There are various ways of either catching or killing rodents which have been developed over the years. There are spring traps, glue boards, live traps, and multiple catch traps to name a few. There are also chemical rodenticides, which rodents ideally consume and thereafter die.
A problem exists with the use of rodent traps, as is known in the prior art, in determining the most effective placement of the rodent trap. It is preferable to locate the traps in the path of the rodent runways or at least adjacent to those paths. These runways are paths frequently travelled by rodents, and can be in areas which are relatively inaccessible to human observation. If the runways can be identified, traps and baits, etc., can be concentrated in this area. The identification of runways can also be used to determine how rodents are entering buildings, as well as where their nests are located.
One popular method of locating runways is by using a black light. Rodents have no bladder control and as they move, they are generally urinating all of the time. Urine paths can be seen by using a black light under the right conditions. There are, however, several problems with the urine path method. It is, of course, possible that these paths are old and the pathways are no longer used by rodents. Also, the urine path is easily washed away by rain or sanitation measures, resulting in no path at all. In any case, trapping on the basis of urine paths is not always reliable.
There is a need for a device which can effectively monitor and be used to locate the active pathways which rodents are currently using. A device is needed which can be placed in hard to get to areas and which will not influence the path of the rodents.